Eight Candles
by ad-victoriam99
Summary: An AU where the prank does occur and the twins do die, but Josh isn't pushed to his mental breaking point and genuinely invites the fan to the mountain in respect for the twins. In this AU, they know the twins fell off the cliff, but do not know of the wendigos nor the strange man. ** Previously "Until Dawn - Reimagined"
1. Chapter 1: Memento Mori

"I can't believe it's been a year," a voice spoke, staring down the long cliff face into the deep, dark chasm below. Following his words, a faint stream of white breath drifted down into the abyss. White snowflakes drifted daintily down, enveloping the sides in slippery ice. The boy who spoke glanced up at the seven other figures standing with him.

"No reason to be a buzzkill, Josh," a girl shrouded in expensive looking clothing scoffed. Emily was freezing. She could feel the goosebumps awkwardly press against the soft wool of the interior of her shirt. Besides, the accident was simply that. An accident. She wasn't a heartless bitch who didn't care, but still, it was stupid to constantly bring something up that only dampened the spirits of the group. Plus, it was fucking cold.

Sam and Ashley both turned to glare at Emily who shrugged. Her boyfriend, Matt, nudged her gently. Emily turned and glared at him. His once semi-intimidating glare went instantly to embarrassed subordination. Sam's voice shifted down to a whisper as she reprehended Emily. "He's still grieving."

A cold laugh jolted them from the awkward silence that formed. "Come on guys," Josh said, turning away from the cliff, "my ass is freezing off. Let's go."

The group followed after Josh, once more absorbed into their various conversations.

"So this cabin," Jess drawled, twisting a strand of blonde hair around her finger. "Is it really as nice as Josh makes it out to be?"

Mike gave her a mischievous look. "It does its job," he shrugs suggestively. "Let's just say that cabin has seen way more action than Chris has ever seen."

"Hey!" Chris shouted indignantly, picking his head up. "I've seen... Some..."

"The internet doesn't count, Cochise," Josh joked, shoving his friend with his shoulder.

Chris laughed and shrugged nonchalantly. "As if you pervs have never-"

"Okay!" Sam interrupted, putting a hand up. "You guys are acting gross. Let's talk about something else."

"Like what, Samantha," Josh asked, emphasizing her full name teasingly. The group all knew she hated her name. It was too much of a mouthful, "like other things," the boys would never failingly pipe up when she defended her nickname.

"Like what are we gonna do for this weekend? We have to have some stuff planned. I didn't bring my hiking equipment for nothing."

"You can hike," Emily said, gesturing her hand in a dismissive manner. "I'm going to relax. I didn't come to this house to freeze to death."

"You think I, Josh Washington, planned nothing? I'm offended!" Josh gasped, holding a mocking hand to his heart. "I'm hurt, Samantha!"

She laughed, her hands trembling in the cold. She had stupidly forgotten her gloves at the bottom of her luggage, and now she was probably going to get frostbite.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, a freezing cold wind hit the group, prompting an eruption of protest as the group whined to Josh.

"Are we almost there?" Emily whined, pressing up against Matt. Matt lovingly took off his jacket and wrapped it around Emily's shoulders. She scoffed and jolted from his grasp. "Couldn't have done that before we left?"

Matt looked down, feigning indifference. He considered himself pretty good at maintaining his anger, but after what he saw through the binoculars, he couldn't help but glare at the back of Mike's head. He felt a hand brush against his shoulder.

"It's okay," Ashley whispered. "He's a dick. Not worth it."

Matt nodded thankfully and whispered, "Thank you. And thanks for letting me see that earlier. I appreciate the honesty."

Ashley nodded in acknowledgement. She walked forward until she matched pace with Chris and Josh. The two were joking around about something or other, but when they noticed her, shut up immediately.

"And there she is! Speak of the devil!" Josh announced, nudging Chris with his elbow.

"Me? Were you two talking about me?" Ashley stuttered, trying unsuccessfully to mask the uneasy feeling that gave her.

"I was just telling Chris that this lodge is a magical place. Oh, and after Mike and Jess are done, the guest cabin is great too."

"Come on, man, cut it out," Chris murmured, pretending to clean his already clean glasses.

Ashley flushed and changed the conversation.

"So, Josh, how's college going?"

"Oh- err, I dropped out."

"Josh!" she gasped. "Why?"

"My dad was offering me a job without needing a degree. I didn't see the point in wasting away in school for another three years. You know, the best producers never went to college."

"I'm going to have to see some statistics on that 'fact,'" Chris teased, rolling his eyes at his friend's logic.

"Trust is an important thing in every relationship Chris," Josh chastised. "Have a little faith."

"We're here!" Josh announced, pointing to the figure of the lodge slowly coming into view. The group broke out in cheers and raced to the warm lodge.

Wind whistled in Sam's ear before she stopped suddenly. The whispering had turned into a piercing scream that made her cover her ears. The group continued forward, so Sam wondered if she'd imagined it.

"Hey, Jess!" she said to the only figure waking. "Did-did you hear that?"

Jess seemed perplexed. "The scream?"

So she hadn't imagined it!

"Let's go," Sam said, grasping Jess' hand and running forward. Sam was brave, but she knew if some animal was lurking out here, that could be bad. She'd read somewhere mountain lions sounded like women screaming. No way would she be caught between Jess and a mountain lion.

As the lodge door slammed behind them, it seemed as though it was just them who heard the the sound. They looked worriedly at each other before Mike grabbed Jess' waist.

"Michael! I swear-" the girl couldn't finish the sentence before erupting into a series of unstoppable laughter.

"At least get to the cabin before you do that, porn stars," Josh spoke, throwing Mike a key. "Here's the key, scram. Oh yeah, and turn on the generator, it's dark out there."

Jess stood up and grabbed Mike's hand. She gave a pointed look toward Emily as she left, giving a smug smirk to the other girl. Emily's fists turned white as she clenched them in anger.

"Whore," she whispered as Jess passed. She grabbed Matt's hand pointedly and forced her eyes away from the other girl. No way would she let that skank know Jess got to her.

"Damn," Josh swore, flicking at the lighter in vain. "No lighter fluid. Can one of you guys go get the matches?"

"Why can't you?" Chris asked.

"Because what would I do with you if I did everything myself?"

Chris grinned. "Fair enough. Where are they?"

"They should be on the kitchen counter. Oh and Matt, if you'd be a dear and go into the bathroom and get some deodorant."

"Are you saying something?" Matt asked, raising an eyebrow and sniffing his shirt.

"No man, I just have an idea." Josh's face went from neutral to mischievous in a second. Matt raised an eyebrow and headed upstairs.

Chris went into the kitchen to see the matches sitting on top the counter. He scooped the pack up and counted them. Eight matches. Well, if Josh couldn't light with one, at least he had seven others to use.

As he made his way back to the living room, he noticed all the Indian garb around. Creepy statues of Indian creatures lined the shelves with random portraits of random Indians on the walls.

"Hey Josh!" he called after seeing a particular painting of some Native American holding an axe.

"What?" Josh called from the other room.

"What's with this creepy Indian portrait?"

"Chris, we're freezing out asses in here. You don't want Ashley's ass to freeze off, I'm sure." Josh replied. "You can admire Squanto later!"

Chris shook his head at Josh's "subtle" teasing and began to move away from the portrait when all of a sudden a gust of wind hit him square in the face. He shuddered as snow burned his eyes. As his vision cleared, he saw the side door ajar, rattling in the wind. Josh had mentioned the reparation that still needed to be done on the lodge. Chris scoffed. With all the Washingtons money, they couldn't afford to fix a door?

As he closed the door with a thud, he suddenly grew suspicious of the silence in the other room. He creeped quietly to the threshold, a strange sense of discomfort prickling in his bones. As he turned the corner, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. His friends were just blankly staring at him.

"Do I have something on my face?" he asked, rubbing his nose. Josh's normally darker skin was pale, and Ashley seemed to be shaking.

"What's wrong?" he asked, the sinking feeling returning.

"Ashley thinks she saw someone outside," Josh said. His words tried to hide his own fear, but Chris knew Josh was feeling uneasy.

"It's Mike or Jess no doubt. Where's Matt? It could even be him," Chris dismissed, handing Josh the matches.

"Matt wouldn't be so stupid," Emily retorted, as she looked around, visibly unnerved.

Even Emily's afraid? Chris did feel odd about that. Chris and the others had always thought Emily's ego would never even met her come close to feeling fear.

Ashley shook her head. "They- they didn't look familiar. And we heard Matt call down from upstairs. He's the one who told us."

"Then it's Mike and Jess," Chris reasoned.

"I don't know man," Josh stated. "Somethings off. He looked like he was holding a machete or some shit."

Chris walked over the the door. He latched it closed.

"Now the big, bad, scary monster can't get it. Feel better?"

Josh seemed to instantly feel at ease as he said, "No, because you're still here."

Chris faked offense. "Don't be jealous because I'm not the one who almost wet himself."

Ashley spoke up, "What about Mike and Jess? How will they get back in?"

"They'll knock," Chris stated, placing a soothing hand on Ashley's shoulder. He instantly took it off when he realized what he was doing.

"What if," Ashley's voice dropped off here. "What if the man comes back and tries to get them?"

Josh chuckled. "Okay Ash, I know we think we saw something, but honestly it was probably like, a deer or something."

"Deer don't hold machetes Josh," Ashley shot back.

"Whatever, oh my God I'm starved. You got any food in this house, Joshua?" Emily interrupted.

"Well, maybe if you tried the fridge you'd have some luck," Josh offered sarcastically

"This house is like a maze Josh. Whoever designed this shit needs to get fired, pronto."

The crew laughed at that. Even Ashley relaxed a little, shifting her hair from her eyes.

Chris looked up suddenly, eyebrows crinkled in confusion, then concern.

"Wait, where's Sam?"

Everyone looked around. Sure enough, the blonde girl had slipped away.

"Sam!" Chris called, and the others, minus Emily, joined in. Emily chowed down on a granola bar and sat on the couch.

"She's probably in the bathroom or something," Emily suggested, waving a hand dismissively. "Let her piss in peace."

Matt came downstairs a few moments after, and the crew all turned hopefully.

"Missed me that much?" he asked, but then sighed awkwardly when the looks were of disappointment. "Guess not."

"We can't find Sam," Ashley told him, color draining from her face as she pictured the machete man looking ominously outside.

"Oh, she passed me on her way up. She's taking a bath."

"What the fuck, Matt," Emily shouted, standing up to face the younger, yet bigger boy. "How do you know she's taking a bath?"

"Err- I was getting the deodorant and she came in holding a towel. I left, I mean I just assumed-"

Emily huffed and sat down, arms crossed. Matt seemed flabbergasted by the response.

"It's okay man, many of us would've paid for a show like that," Josh reassured him with a smile.

"No, no, it wasn't like that!"

Chris, Ashley, and Josh erupted in laughter. The constant fluctuation between tension and comedy was seriously putting Ashley off, but she didn't want to seem like a chicken and voice her concern. After all, it was just a weekend they were here. She can do this.

"Mike, oh my God," Jess groaned. "Are we almost there?"

Mike shrugged. "Just a ways I suppose. Oh shit, Josh!"

The pathway was blocked with a mineshaft that had been boarded up. Only a sliver of a hole remained, big enough for the two to fit but not very promising looking.

"Come on, I'm not going back now to stare at the peanut gallery," Jess declared, grabbing Mike's wrist and dragging him through the entrance. Mike sneezed as the dust hit his face. Jess groaned in disgust.

"I feel myself catching diseases in here," she said, crinkling her nose. Suddenly she gasped as she fell face forward off of the steep drop off onto the tracks.

"Oww, damn it Mike!" she grimaced, dusting the dirt off of her.

"Are you all right?" Mike called down to her, sliding down the steep drop off to meet her.

"All seven of my limbs are in tact," she reassured him, grabbing her boobs in emphasis.

"Well, we can check when we get to the cabin," Mike flirted. Jess laughed.

"Shut up, dork," she said, dusting off her still dirty pants.

The two continued on down the dank, dark mine. Eventually they reached another roadblock, but the managed to push a mine cart out of the way. Jess coughed as a dust cloud hit her square in the face.

"I'm going to be so dirty by the time we get there. Damn, sorry Mike."

"I was counting on you being dirty," he replied with a suggestive wink. She shoved him.

"Pervert!"

"Aww, Jess, like you're so much cleaner than me. You're the one who wanted-"

Suddenly a shriek, louder than anything before sounded from right behind them. The two froze, their breaths coming out in fast, white gusts.

"Mike," Jess whispered, careful not to speak too loudly. "What-what was that?"

The two could feel some sort of presence behind them. Footsteps, smacking against the concrete of the track, grew louder and louder before they seemed to be right behind the duo.

"Run!" Mike shrieked and grabbed Jess' hand. The two raced for a small opening toward the end of the shaft. Jess gasped when they arrived. It was too small for both of them to go at once.

"Go Jess," he commanded, ushering her toward the hole. "Go tell the others!"

"Mike, I can't leave you!"

"Bye Jess," Mike stated, his expression determined. Jess nodded and squirmed out of the hole and into the cold snow. "I- I love you, okay?"

Jess peeked through the hole. "I love you too, now fucking run." He nodded and turned toward another branch of the mine. Another scream, sounding only a few feet away, caused them both to race off.

As Jess ran through the woods, anxiously trying to get away from whatever was behind her, she couldn't even think. Not about Mike, not about the creature, not about anything. Not until she came across a particularly tall tree that loomed ominously above her. She stopped to catch her breath as the tears began to pool in her eyes.

Her boyfriend was probably dead, her friends unaware of anything wrong, and now she was lost in the woods. Fucking great.

 **Hello, it's me. I reread this chapter and hated it, so I rewrote it. Sorry for the confusion about updating to the followers I got. (Thank you by the way, you guys rock!)**


	2. Chapter 2: Fear

Jess sneezed as the wind tickled her nose. Snowflakes caught in her hair, brushing against her bare ears, making her shiver. When she had struggled out of the hole in the mineshaft, part of her jacket tore, exposing only the shirt she had underneath. The shirt quickly absorbed the wetness from the snow and tingled her skin.

"Goddamnit," Jess swore, blowing hot hair into her gloves and pressing them to her nose. Her cheeks were tinged with red, but she was sure without the cold her face would've been as white as the snow. The events with Mike in the mines kept replaying in her mind. Exhaustion crept into her bones, but Mike's panicked face showed up every time she shut her eyes, incentivizing her to push on past the pain.

Howls of the wolves that crept on the mountains caused the hair on the back of her neck to rise. Thinking about the wolves made her think about the thing that had chased her and Mike in the mines, and that was no wolf. Or, at least Jess thought it wasn't. No wolf made those sounds, those screams. Or did they? Jess never really had any experience with any wolves, so she had no remote idea.

A scream jolted Jess from her thoughts. She froze, looking frantically around. Another two screams followed, and the realization hit her. There's more than one of these things.

Seeing nothing, Jess raced away from the sounds. She honestly had no clue how she was managing to run when her body screamed for her to stop. Her lungs ached as she tried to gasp in breaths. Her legs ached and the cold scorched her ears.

Suddenly a scream sounded from behind her, much louder and closer than before. Her breathing went from heavy and quick to absent. She couldn't stop the shaking of her entire body as the her hairs rose. Another, even louder scream seemed to rattle her bones. She swore she felt a gust of warm hair tickle the back of her neck. Whatever it was, it was right behind her.

She couldn't move. God, how she wanted to. She willed her legs to move, but they refused to listen. Her mind screamed of what would probably happen if she stayed in one place. The thing would maul her, tear her limb from limb. Or it would devour her alive. Or it would hurt her so badly she couldn't move, but not finish her off, and would leave her to die. Or...

Time slowed down. She shut her eyes, feeling tears prick at her eyes. She felt as though she could feel her heartbeat slam rapidly against the inside of her chest. She began to silently count each beat, in a halfhearted attempt to calm herself down.

Then... Nothing. She heard the ragged breathing of the beast turn away from her neck. She heard the footsteps slam against the snow with loud slaps retreat away from her. The screams grew fainter and more displaced.

Jess sunk to the ground, completely aware of the cold snow pressing against her ass, but not caring at all. Tears poured down her face, unable to remain behind her eyes any longer. The tears plopped into the snow, melting a few flakes. The falling snow replaced the destroyed snowflakes. Jess' whole body shook from sobs as she tried desperately to collect herself.

Then, she did. She managed to stand up again, feeling drained, but definitely calmer than before. Her nerves were still high, but they weren't nearly as incapacitating as before. She managed to keep moving forward, forcing herself to go on for Mike.

Trudging through the snow, she approached a small cabin, highlighted by several tall conifers weighed down by blankets of thick snow. She would've walked right past it had she not noticed light trickling out of the window.

She hesitated by the patio for a few moments, weighing her options. She knew the Washingtons were the only ones with a lodge anywhere near the area and that the Washingtons were so rich, it was plausible that they owned a few other things in the area. But at the same time, flashes of the news reports from the accident last year flew through her mind. Supposedly the police had found where they suspected the girls fell only a few months after the accident. The problem was how dangerous mines down below were. Superstitions about ghosts and spirits seemed to affect the more superstitious of the officials searching the area, and the ones that stayed to investigate couldn't make it down the cliff without escaping injury. The area was deemed too dangerous, and caution tape was placed all around the area. Thus Beth's and Hannah's bodies were never found, much to the dismay of the group. Well, maybe Emily didn't care as much, but the rest of the group was really upset.

And now there was a suspicious cabin perched on the outskirts of the forest. She remembered how Hannah had ran away after the prank with Beth following close by. She remembered how after a few minutes of waiting, Sam and Matt had taken off after them, traveling down the path to try to find them. They were the ones who found the footsteps that were quickly fading away on the path. One set became two sets, then the two had noticed something odd. Another two sets joined the already existing sets. It was odd, one seemed to be the steps of someone with heavy boots, and it took longer for those to fade away. The other looked more animal than human, leading the police to believe either foul play or a wolf attack. Matt and Sam swore the footprints didn't look like paw prints, but instead, they were of something completely different. The police investigated this, but to no avail. Each day that they searched revealed nothing of either sets. The police reported spotting charred trees and dead deer near the path, but never anything that matched the footprints.

Jess creeped up the wooden steps, careful to avoid the creaky edges of the floorboards. The wide window was perched open. 'If anyone was actually in they're,' Jess thought, 'they'd be freezing. And, whatever this is has to be much safer than whatever is back there.' She turned pointedly to look into the dark, malicious forest that loomed ominously behind her.

She felt a sudden boost of confidence when she thought of Mike's fate potentially being in her hands, so she approached the window. Listening for a few moments, all she could hear was her own ragged breathing. She lifted her head and peeked in.

"Matt, be a doll and go upstairs and out our stuff in one of the guest bedrooms. Pick a nice one, not some ragged, dusty one."

Matt nodded obediently and grabbed two of the suitcases from the bottom of the steps.

"God Emily, did you pack bricks?" Matt asked, heaving the larger suitcase up with a groan.

"Shut up Matt and bring the stuff up. You're the quarterback, you can do some heavy lifting. And maybe after we'll have some fun," she said with a suggestive smile. Matt smiled back and began to shuffle up the steps.

Josh held the lighter and began flicking the trigger a few times. Suddenly, a small flame shot up the barrel, and Josh grinned.

"Guess we didn't need the matches," Josh noted, smirking at Chris who held the matches in the palm of his hand.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you? And to think I took the long, perilous journey to get the matches! You ass!" Chris hugged, crossing his arms dramatically.

"Perilous? Is that the word of the day?" Josh asked, warming his hands in the warmth of the fire.

"No, the word of the day is asshat, definition: Joshua Washington," Chris refuted, proudly.

Ashley and Matt laughed at Chris' dig, and even Josh cracked a smile.

"Man, to think I considered you my best friend!" Josh shook his head. "You can sleep on the floor tonight. You know, because I'm an asshat."

"Josh!" a voice called from upstairs. "How the hell do you turn on the hot water? I'm not stepping into an ice bath."

"Not even if I help you?" Josh called up teasingly, while Chris stifled a laugh.

"Hardy, har!" she called back down, turning off the water as a big splash of icy water but her hands. She winced at the touch of ice.

"Rich ass people with freezing cold water," she murmured, using a towel to dry off her hands.

Preparing to head down the steps, a glint from a bedroom across the hall made her step back. Walking through the doorway, a sudden crippling feeling attacked her chest. This was Hannah's room.

It had all the signs of being Hannah's. Decorative butterflies of varying size and color dotting the walls, a simple, yet elegant white sheet draped over the bed. Fluffy pillows pressed against the headboard. It looked like a bedroom that was still in use. Her heart ached.

Sam wasn't sure what pressed her to move forward through the room. Flyers and posters lines the walls, underneath was a picture of Mike. The picture was heavily crinkled from pavilion being held numerous times. Damn, how Hannah had loved that asshole. Guilt pricked at Sam's chest as visions from the prank flew through her mind.

She could've stopped it. Sam knew it. The others knew it. Hannah knew it. But Sam didn't want her friends to get mad at her and take out an even worse prank on her. They could be vicious, everyone knew that. So she let her best friend be absolutely humiliated on camera. She let her best friend die.

Sam pushed away the thoughts. They weren't helping anyone, not right now. Right now she needed to focus on getting hot water for her bath.

Heading downstairs, she nearly slammed into Josh as she zoned out. Josh backed up, hands in the air.

"No need to throw yourself at me, Samantha. You could've just asked," he commented slyly. Sam scoffed.

"In your wildest dreams."

"Well I was going to get you some hot water, but maybe now I'll rethink," Josh threatened, crossing his arms.

"I'm not going to suck up to you," Sam shot back. She headed for the basement stairs. "I'll get there myself."

"Fine, I'll go, but only because you begged."

Sam grinned, shaking her head. He was such a kid, even at twenty years old.

"Come on, idiot," Sam sighed, leading him to the stairs. After last visit, it seemed like she had memorized the floor plan of the entire lodge. You basically had to to get anywhere in the labyrinth-like house.

Their feet rapped against the aged wood of the stairs. As they descended lower, it grew darker and asked until they were submerged in complete darkness. Josh clicked on the flashlight he had cleverly grabbed before they left. He shined the light around the room before flicking on the nearby light switch.

As light flooded the room, Sam glanced around. Various tools and miscellaneous equipment lined the shelves of the room. While the lodge had been sparkling clean, the basement was horrendous. Dust particles tickled Sam's nose.

"God, Josh! You didn't clean before we came?"

"No one goes in the basement," he shrugged. "I've only been a handful of times. Don't blame me for your neediness."

Sam laughed, nudging him playfully. He grinned back. Suddenly, his face grew more serious as a thought came to his mind.

"Hey... Err.. I just wanted to say, this means a lot to me. I mean, you guys, and you, Sam, um... coming up here with me," Josh stuttered, scratching his neck. His eyes wouldn't meet hers, and the awkwardness that radiated off of him was making Sam uncomfortable.

"Josh, of course we came. We feel- we feel like we need to give them respect for..." Her voice trailed off. "We all care about you." She placed a kind hand on his shoulder.

After the accident, Josh visited a lot. Sam, being Hannah's best friend, felt the loss nearly, if not as much as he did. The two had formed a deep bond, a connection. But however much her friends doubted it, it wasn't a romantic one. It was one much stronger. It was a bond of mutual loss, a bond of family. The two had lost so much in one awful day, there was bound to be some bonding.

"Anyway," Josh drawled loudly, moving on. He knew a quick conversation change needed to happen to alleviate the awkward. "Let's get you some hot water."

The two made their way in a recovering silence to the boiler. Although Josh lived here, he rarely was put in charge of running the lodge. His fatter had tried to teach him how to work everything, but the place was monstrously huge, so of course Josh was bound to forget some things. He was only human of course. He flipped open the panel toward the bottom of the boiler, revealing a few buttons and a switch. He handed Sam the flashlight.

"Hold still, Sammy," he said," fiddling with the buttons. "I have to remember how to do this." He flicked at random buttons and levers to no avail. He tried to remember what his dad had said about this, but all he could think about was the last time someone needed the boiler working. That someone was Beth, who after a day of hiking, decided she wanted to take a shower. She was just as technologically challenged as Josh was with these kinds of things, so naturally she was at a loss for how to fix the boiler. By the next hour, she was dead, her body somewhere down a hole. It hurt Josh to remember, but the words of his psychiatrist echoed in his mind.

'Don't forget. Accept. Death is a natural part of life. Death is a natural part of life. Death is a natural-"

Sam noticed Josh's strange behavior, but before she could comment on it, a loud thud sounded from upstairs. She looked up quickly, dropping the beam of the light to the floor.

"Sam, please, I'm doing something here," Josh scolded, his tome a bit harsher than usual he had almost remembered! Taking his head out of the boiler's control panel, he looked at her. He noticed her expression and frowned, all harshness instantly evaporating. "What's wrong?"

"I heard something from upstairs. A crash or something," she told him, her eyebrows furrowed in thought. She didn't look too scared, but after all the talk of machete men earlier, Josh was a little uneasy. He shook it off, remembered the childish behavior of his friends. They were probably just acting like morons.

"Humph, probably just the kids trying to get it on upstairs," he replied, a sly look forming in his eyes. "Hey up there! Save some room for us, we're coming in!"

Sam gasped, then called up, "No, we most certainly do not!"

Josh went back to messing with the boiler when finally the thing started up with a rumble. Sam clapped and patted Josh on the back. "I'm a fucking genius!" he announced, throwing his fists triumphantly in the air.

"I knew you could do it. Only took like a century," Sam remarked. He smacked his lips in disbelief. "I did so much for you Sam, the least you can be is grateful. Next time, freeze to death." Sam chuckled and rolled her eyes. As the two began to make their way upstairs, they were met by an annoyed looking Emily.

"I can't find Matt," she said, her arms crossed in mild annoyance. "He went upstairs to go put the stuff away but then there was like this loud crash and now he won't answer me." Sam raised an eyebrow. Emily treated the disappearance of her boyfriend as more of an inconvenience than actual problem. The nerve.

"Did you go up and check on him?" Sam asked, quickening her pace. If Emily wasn't going to care, Sam was. Although Emily and Josh didn't seem too frantic, Sam was a bit nervous. The idea of a friend getting hurt the second year in a row... That would be too much for everyone.

"No, I don't want to get hurt," Emily scoffed. She wasn't usually this cold, but Jess' behavior earlier had touched Emily in a bad way. And now Matt wasn't answering. As if this day could get any worse.

Sam stared at Emily in disbelief for only a few heartbeats before rushing up the stairs. Emily rolled her eyes behind the girl. Dick, much? She looked at Josh who shrugged. At least there was one other sane person around.

Emily wasn't stupid. She knew Sam was worried mostly because of the events of last year. But Emily was tired of all the references to the accident already. Even though this vacation was designed in respect to the twins, she really didn't want to spend her winter break moping around about a stupid accident.

"Matt!" she called up as she made it to the first floor. Chris and Ashley sat on the couch, just far enough away to not raise eyebrows.

"Emily, it's okay. I'm sure he's fine. I fold you I'd go upstairs to check on-" Chris began but was immediately interrupted by Emily.

"I told you no! This is is Josh's house, and if there is something in it, he can handle that. It's the least he can do if something happened to Matt," Emily said, plopping down in the middle of Chris and Ashley.

"The guests we supposed to do all the dirty work, I just host," Josh replied, shrugging.

"That's definitely not a rule," Chris corrected. "I think it's actually that the guest is always right.

"Hmph, fine, I'll go," Josh said, blowing out air of disbelief from his nose. "But Chris, you're coming with me." He grabbed Chris and pulled him up off of the couch.

They hadn't even made it up the first step before a bloodcurdling scream rang through the house. There was no mistaking who it belonged to. Matt.

 **First off, I'd love to thank the very kind reviews from SkyeMaxwell and NonSleepyZebra! Thank you for your support, and if you have any criticisms of suggestions, please let me know! I've also gotten several favorites and followers, which is a first, so thank you to you guys too! Now, before you grab your pitchforks and kill me, I know Sam x Josh is a huge ship, but I don't ship it. Let me explain! In the canon, *spoilers ahead* I knew it was definitely wrong with the whole psycho reveal. Sam is one of the only relatively innocent characters in the game, and she deserved someone sane. Now because Josh is normal in this AU, I can't use that excuse, so instead I say this. I don't like the two as a couple. Now, they make a kick-ass duo, but not couple. They didn't really have much chemistry in those regards imo. I just think they're looking for different things at this time in their lives. I know what Sam said in the credits about their connection, but I choose to take it as a familial bond, not as a last, random, unfounded attempt by the writers to smudge a potential relationship into the mix. I'm so sorry you guys, I wish I could ship it, but I can't. Well... Maybe if you guys reallllyy want it I'll put some fluff in there but as of now... Idk. Comment and I'll make a decision. I'm more of a horror/action writer anyway so it's not really that big** **of a deal. Thanks for the continued support!**

 **-Your very thankful Author**


	3. Chapter 3: Danger

**Hello! I'm starting with the A/N this time because Skye Maxwell had some awesome comments that I actually wanted to touch upon last chapter but forgot to! You're right, it is weird that the twins were never found in my story, but to me it's strange Until Dawn never mentions what they did after the girls ran off. Did the group wait awhile to call the cops? Could they even call the cops with that blizzard going on? Did really no one go investigate? Based on Sam's character, I'd assume she would go investigate. I didn't think Ashley, Emily, or Mike would, because of how involved they were, and Chris and Josh were knocked out, so that left Matt to go with her, which based on his personality, I figured he would go with her anyway. In regards to the police never finding them, I needed that to not happen for a plot point later. The mines are an awful place, so I figured however convenient, the most plausible explanation for the bodies not being found is simply just because the mines were too dangerous to investigate. But you're right, it is bad writing on my part. I'll try to think of another explanation. And about Emily's personality... I read somewhere that Until Dawn is supposed to parody all the cliches of a horror movie (teens in a cabin, psycho killer, monsters, pretty weird dialogue that 99% of teenagers would never say) so I kinda tried to incorporate that in this story. But I'll definitely tone it down! Thank you for your review, Skye! Also thank you to NonSleepyZebra and Eli Mustang! I'm glad to see you all are okay with the Sam and Josh situation! Means a lot! Now onto Chapter 3!**

"What the fuck, Josh," Emily asked, eyes wide as the group all stared at the steps. Everyone was now on their feet, hovering near the steps, fearful of what was upstairs. Matt's scream had startled them all, and now, only a few moments after, no one knew what to say.

"Why me? I-I don't know what that was, my parents just own the place!" Josh defended himself, eyes wide in fear.

"You couldn't have checked the place out before we came here?" Emily asked, voice escalating hysterically. "If we die because of you, I'm going to to kill you!"

"Hush!" Sam shushed them, putting a finger to her lips. "Whatever is up there..."

"Matt!" Chris called up, ignoring Sam's words, but his voice cracking on the word.

"Shut up, Chris, Sam's right. If there's something up there..." Emily's voice trailed off as her eyes wandered up the steps.

"Well... Someone has to go check it out!" Sam stated, looking around the group. "If he's in trouble, we have to get to him!"

Sam swallowed nervously and began to walk toward the steps. She'd always considered herself a brave person, but when she thought of the scream, her feet felt like lead. Nevertheless, she pushed forward, fear of Matt's fate clear in her mind.

Soon she heard Chris and Ashley follow suit behind her. They were whispering too low for Sam to hear actual words instead of just panicked mumbles, but Sam was too preoccupied to truly notice. Instead she thought about how stupidly long the staircase was. And how complicated the second floor's floorplan was. ( **it was so impossible finding the bathroom in the first chapter... Why do they only have one bathroom in that big ass lodge**?) Would they get to Matt in time?

"Matt!" she called, peeking over the banister of the stairs. There was silence, a creepy, unsettling silence that filled the air. Even Chris and Ashley had quieted. All they heard was the wind slamming against the window. Or... Was it the wind?

"Sam, be careful. If there is actually something up there-" Josh warned, voice cutting off as Emily smacked him.

"Look, we have to get Matt," she said, her voice taking on a completely serious, ominous tone. "We need to." The group went back to silence. Emily was rarely this serious, and even more rarely ever displayed genuine concern for another human, even more rarely for one of them. Much less Matt.

"All right, I think we should split up," Sam suggested. "We need to find Matt as soon as we can, but we need to travel in groups just in case something happens to one of us."

"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard," Emily replied. "I want to find Matt, but splitting up is usually the worst idea ever! Do you watch any movies?"

Josh shrugged apologetically, looking to Sam. "She's got a point. It seems too dangerous to split up. Five of us could easily take one person. Maybe not a bear but-"

"A bear?" Emily interjected, gulping. "A bear couldn't get up here... Right?"

"Okay, now we're just being ridiculous," Sam cut in, shaking her head. "There's no fucking bear up here. It's probably just a joke. A stupid one."

"As I said before, Matt isn't stupid like some of you. This isn't his idea of a prank," Emily said, crossing her arms defensively for her boyfriend. Emily seemed extra protective of him... When he was in danger.

"No, his idea of a prank is much different," Josh agreed, lowering his voice. Silence followed his words. Emily didn't even reply rudely to that. Just awkward silence.

A few moments followed before Ashley weakly interjected, "It wasn't his idea." Her voice seemed filled with regret and sadness. Ashley had been one of the masterminds along with Mike and Emily. Something she heavily regretted, but still happened nonetheless.

"Guys, focus," Sam said after a few more seconds of awkward silence. "Matt, one of us, is in trouble. We need to get to him."

The group all nodded, following Sam up to the second floor. What greeted them was more stillness, somehow even more sinister than before. Sam pushed forward. Knowing if they stopped now, she may never have gotten them to continue on. She heard the quiet footsteps behind her, feeling a glimmer of pride for her friends that had followed her. It was no secret some of them were complete chickens.

"Sam?" a relieved voice whispered loudly from Sam's side. Sam whirled around to face Hannah's room. The voice had definitely come from there. As she began to move toward that direction, recognizing Matt's voice, suddenly a door shuddered from the other side of the house. There stood Matt, eyes wide and whole body trembling in fear.

"H-how? Did you guys hear that?" she asked, motioning towards Hannah's door. The rest of the group shook their heads and made their way toward Matt, whose dark complexion turned much lighter.

As the group rushed toward Matt, Ashley found herself lagging behind, lost in thought. Matt was one of the brave ones. He went with Sam into the woods when everything went down last year. What could possibly have scared him this badly? She'd never seen him so scared, Hell, she'd never really seen anyone this startled.

"Matt, what happened?" she asked, approaching him. Emily was by his side once more, scowling.

"Yeah, Matt, why'd you scream? You worried us for nothing," Emily said, arms crossed.

"No, no, not for nothing," Matt corrected her, licking his lips. His voice was wavering and weak. It seemed like a battle for him to even speak.

"What's wrong Matt?" Ashley asked, taking on an extra compassionate tone.

"There's something in this house. It-it broke through the window in Hannah's room. It lunged toward me, I screamed, slammed the door before it got to me and ran the fuck away."

"What is it?" Sam asked, looking toward the door. Her face paled as she thought of the voice that had nearly lured her in.

"It wasn't any animal I've ever seen. Human-like," he said, staring down the door. "It crawled at me so fast, I couldn't really get a good look. All I know, is it had the most disgusting skin. Wet and smooth, god, it was so gross."

At this point, everyone was visibly uncomfortable. Josh had gradually shifted from his position closer to Hannah's room closer to Matt. Even Chris seemed touched by the story. He glanced uneasily at Ashley, who paled.

"It broke the window?" Josh asked. "Are- are you sure you heard that, Matt? We would've heard that, right?"

Sam seemed uneasy. "It wasn't a crash, but we did hear a thud," she reminded Josh. "Remember?"

"We heard that too," Chris commented, furrowing his eyebrows. "It was super loud and from upstairs. We just assumed it was you dropping something Matt..."

Matt shook his head. "I heard it too and went to investigate. That's when I saw the window was smashed and..." His voice trailed off.

By this point, every head was turned toward Hannah's door. No one spoke, no one made any movement.

"Someone has to go," Emily said, turning to Matt. "You've seen the thing-"

"Emily, babe, you're great and all, but I was just attacked by this thing. I don't want to," Matt replied, stepping backward, away from the door. Matt rarely ever said no to Emily, this was serious.

Emily huffed, stepping forward. She grabbed Matt's arm and began to move to the door.

"You were probably just seeing things. There's no way you saw what you saw. Come on," she said, dragging a reluctant Matt forward. As she approached the door, she slowed down, considering Matt's story. She was no fool, she knew something had happened to Matt, but she didn't want this trip to be ruined by a possible fantasy.

She heaved open the door and stepped back. Her friends all jumped to the side and covered their faces my expecting the impossible. Instead, all they saw was the broken window with snowflakes creating a puddle on the floor. Nothing.

"Matt!" Emily chided, hitting him in the gut. He seemed surprised, and shook his head.

"No, I swear! It was here! I swear!" Matt's voice was pleading as he looked at each member of the group.

Sam placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We believe you saw what you saw, but maybe," she paused, and Chris filled in the gap, "it wasn't exactly what you saw."

Matt shook his head. "I'm not crazy. I know exactly what I saw."

"A humanoid creature with smooth and scaly skin?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow. "Yeah, right. Maybe we should call the cops."

"Emily, I swear!" Matt's voice was panicky now, as he searched for someone to believe him.

"Well, whatever it was, it broke the window," Sam commented, making her way into the room. The others followed her. She handled a piece of shattered glass, looking at it carefully.

"Something definitely slammed into that," Josh said, looking at the window. "Hard. Whatever it was has power. When I smashed Mrs. Miller's window with the baseball, it shattered like that, but not so... Violently."

"Josh, I don't think we can compare this to your twelve year old self smashing a window," Sam replied with a grin. The group laughed, tension rolling off of them in waves.

"Hey, I was strong for a middle schooler!" he defended himself, grinning proudly. He flexed his arms as if to prove it, and Sam laughed.

"You're wearing a snow coat, dumbass," she replied, smacking his arm playfully. He shook his head.

"I'm ripped under here," he huffed, flexing the other arm as if to prove it. Everyone in the group, even Matt, spared a chuckle.

"Matt, it's really okay. We believe you. We'll keep this door shut. We won't make fun of you, whatever it was seemed to really scare you, and we know you don't scare that easily," Sam soothed him, turning away from the window.

Matt nodded in acknowledgement, thanking her under his breath. He scratched at his head in thought. He grinned.

"Maybe- maybe it wasn't what I thought it was. I took psychology freshman year, the mind does some crazy shit," he rationalized, nodding his head. Sam grinned back at him.

"That's the attitude! Now, let's go back to making fun of Josh!" she said, nudging Josh with her elbow. Again, the group broke out into laughs.

The laughs didn't last for long, however, before a long, thin hand reached into the window, took hold of Sam's right arm, and yanked hard, pulling her out the window. All they heard was a scream, and a soft thud as whatever it was held Sam and hit the snow below.

"Shit!" Mike grunted, pushing forward, past a heavy mine cart. Whatever it was behind him wasn't letting up, and was quickly catching up. Mike had no remote idea where to go, he just hoped the mineshaft didn't end anytime soon. He'd be screwed. Hell, he was already screwed. He'd be dead.

He heaved forward, reaching the lever of the mine cart and heaved it backward, sending the mine cart back from where Mike had started. Whatever was chasing him screamed as the car collided with it, knocking it down. Straight after pulling it, Mike bolted forward. The thing recovered quickly and went right back to the chase.

Pushing onward, he saw passageways littering the area. It was like a gamble, deciding which one to turn down. Mike knew if he turned too much, he'd get lost. And that would suck. He wondered if he'd have to choose between being mauled to death by a wild creature or starving go death. He pushed the morbid thought from his mind and pressed on.

His mind wandered to Jess. He wanted nothing more than to be in the cabin with her in his arms, instead of running from a monster down at the center of the world. Surprisingly, he found himself relieved that he was the one being chased by the beast, not Jess. Mike was never a very romantic person, but Jess was fragile, as much as she didn't want to admit it. If something happened to her, Mike knew he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. He found himself wondering if had it been any other person, would he have been so good?

He didn't think he'd intentionally put anyone in harms way, but if it came down to him or someone else... What would anyone do in that case? Sam might sacrifice herself, Mike considered, but he had always had a sinking suspicion that she wasn't quite as brave as everyone made her out to be. Or maybe he was just jealous. Wait, no, he wasn't jealous of Sam. It would've been a hilarious thought if he wasn't being chased down a potentially very, very dangerous mine.

Mike found his feet growing tired. He just wanted to stop, just accept that whatever it was that was chasing him would just give up and leave him alone. He wanted to be anywhere but there.

So he did. He darted into one of the numerous hallways and into a corner with rocks jutting out. He barely fit between the cracks, but it was probably better that way. Then he just stopped, chest heaving as he fought for breath. His legs ached from relief.

Screaming. From all angles. First from whatever was chasing him, then from another one somewhere else. It all echoed, making Mike press his palms over his ears. He almost wanted to scream along, if only to drown out their screams. He kept his mouth shut, however, and leaned against the wall.

"Jess," he whispered, still motionless. "Please, for fucks sake, find them."

A crackling fire with... With what was that? Some kind of slab of meat over it? Jess' stomach rumbled loudly, startling her. She hadn't realized just his hungry she was until now. Although, she hadn't really eaten since lunch, which was like, a billion hours ago.

She considered breaking in. She stood there by the window for seconds, then minutes, just wondering what was the worst thing that could possibly happen. Perhaps the cabin was owned by a madman, she's seen enough movies of that. Or maybe the cabin was a trap, made by those monsters that had chased her, and now she wasn't going to be the one eating, but instead the one eaten. That thought chilled her to the bone, and nearly drove her away. But her stomach rumbled again, and she knew she needed that food, or she'd starve. There was no telling how much longer she'd be out in the woods.

She crept around to every window and peeked in, looking for any sign of life. Chewed up bones made it seem like dogs had lived in the cabin, but with a shudder she realized maybe it wasn't dogs in there, but the monster. She shook it off when she saw a leather rope, seemed to be in the form of a crude leash. A dog.

After searching the last window, she came across the back door, which was ajar. She smiled as she realized, well, maybe she wouldn't need to break in after all. Jess had broken many, many laws, but never breaking and entering. Now she was just entering. That counted for something, right?

The smile flew off her face when she remembered Mike. She needed to do this fast so she could get back to looking for her friends. So she slipped in, careful to be as quiet as possible. She took a quick peek around the room before heading straight for the fire and delving into her meal. She honestly had no clue what the meat was, but if someone was eating it it had to be okay? Right?

Her nose wrinkled in disgust. The meat was good, but there was no evidence of where it had come from. Definitely wasn't anything Jess had ever eaten. With the various bear, fox, and god-knows-what creatures lining the walls of the cabin, there was no telling.

With a smile, she thought of Sam. Sam had recently announced herself as vegetarian, much to the amusement of the group. Josh had taken extra steps to ensure only meat would be served at the cabin. In retaliation, Sam had snitched on him to his mom.

Jess felt a pang of longing in her chest. She wanted so badly to be with her friends, joking around and having meaningless conversations. Instead, she was stuck in this dank, awful cabin with a slab of meat for company. She felt a test slide down her cheek, and brushed it off roughly. She wasn't about to cry.

A glimmer from the side of her caught her peripheral vision. Standing up, finished with the slab, she made her way over, wiping the juices off her face. Approaching the oak table, she scooted the layers of winter clothes that were scattered about out of the way.

It was a picture frame. Older, very dusty, but still recognizable. Beth and Hannah were grinning, much younger, much happier than... Jess shook the thought out of her mind. This was before Hannah had gotten her tattoo, her arm was strangely bare, which was a sight Jess rarely ever saw.

Hannah and Beth seemed to be inside the very cabin Jess was in, as evident by the skins on the wall and placement of the various portraits. The couch was in much worse shape than it was in the picture, but still, it was unmistakeable. This was a Washington cabin. Could it be the very cabin Mike was leading Jess too?

Jess looked around. The cabin was definitely as Mile described it, and realistically, how much real estate could the Washingtons own up here? It had to be Josh's. But why was there food cooking and a fire going? The Washingtons definitely didn't have a dog...

"Hello?" Jess called out, feeling a twinge of bravery. If someone was here... On the off chance they could help Mike... Nothing. Not a sound came through the cabin walls. Jess sighed and began to sift through the house. More layers wouldn't hurt, it was ass cold outside. Although she did feel dirty sifting through potentially Hannah and Beth's clothes.

After finding a scarf and another thick jacket, she bundled up and began to head out. She knew the cabin was in walkable distance from the lodge, so truly, how far could she be? But as she walked out, she frowned. Snow in all directions. Trees in all directions. No lodge.

She chose a direction. She had no clue if she was going in the right direction, but she really couldn't think about it too long. Jess was a doer, not a thinker. Thinkers got themselves in trouble thinking about every little thing. Doers just... Do.

She moved, shoving the snow from her path. Somehow the amount of snow seemed to triple in the few minutes she was in the cabin. She instantly became extremely thankful for whoever had lit the fire in the cabin. Although now she wanted more than ever to turn back however dangerous that may be.

Suddenly she thought of how dangerous going into that cabin had been. Especially dangerous because she stuck around. She could've been caught by the monster... Shit. She felt prideful in her bravery and marched through the snow with a newfound confidence.

That confidence led her through the woods, not once stopping to consider that maybe she was heading the wrong way. Luckily for her, it was the right way. As the peak of the roof of the lodge came into view, tears of joy sprouted at her eyelids.

She made her way over, breaking into a jog. She would've gone faster, but the snow clung to her feet, holding her back. As she raced to the lodge, she thought to herself that if she never, ever saw snow again, she'd be okay.

The front door was within view now. She wanted nothing more than to snuggle up to the fire and drink some hot cocoa, but Matt's panicked face flashed in her mind. He was her first priority. If something happened to him...

Suddenly a scream echoed through the woods. Jess through her head up to see a flash of blond hair fly through the sky. Jess put a hand to her mouth. It seemed as though Sam had fallen through the window, second story no less! But then something caught her eye. In the corner... No way... What the fuck was that? Something had hold of Sam's arm and was dragging her out... It was so pale, it blended into the thick snowfall. It was gross, bald, and nasty looking. Without a doubt when the monster screamed, Jess knew this was what chased her and Mike through the mines. And now it had Sam.

Jess stared in horror as the beast dragged Sam through the woods. Jess looked back to the window to see her friends staring in a mix of immense fear and shock. Jess froze. She had two options here. Run after Sam, or go find her friends? Shit. Keeping true to her motto of not thinking, she bolted after Sam, waving crazily at her friends, praying they'd notice. Jess was a doer, and by God, she was going to stay that way.

 **Didn't have time time to edit so sorry for any mistakes. Will edit soon, but I just wanted to try to get this out to y'all sooner rather than later. This week has been absolutely crazy so far, and it's only Tuesday.**


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